Dogs maul area man's penned deer

May 6, 2012

Written by

The Reporter

A Campbellsport man who raises abandoned fawns was visibly shaken as he described to a sheriff's officer how a neighbor's dogs killed his pet deer.

Three deer were already dead inside the pen by the time a Fond du Lac Sheriff's Deputy arrived at the man's Town of Auburn home on the afternoon of May 3. A fourth was unable to get up and had to be put down by the officer.

The deer had been mauled and two of them were partially eaten by the dogs, according to a report from the sheriff's office.

Don Klein is licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a deer-keeper to raise abandoned fawns and had his small herd of deer in a fenced-in area at his home on Old Bridge Road in the Town of Auburn.

The 911 call indicates the neighbor's two pit bulls were inside the deer pen killing the deer as Klein watched, unable to save them. When the deputy arrived he went to alert the neighbor, who came and retrieved his dogs from the pen.

Klein's animals are kept in a fenced area that is approximately 10 to 12 feet high. It appears that the dogs were somehow able to get through the fence. It was unclear if they were able to dig under the fence or get through the wire.

The dog owner was issued a citation for dogs running at large, which poses a $200 fine. The officer told Klein that he wasn't sure he could get restitution from the dog owner for the loss since the deer were given to him by the DNR and were not domesticated animals, according to the report.

The officer described Klein, who could not be reached for comment, as emotionally and physically upset.

Four remaining deer in the pen were not harmed by the dogs, the report stated.